


From a Certain Point of View

by Amber_and_Ash



Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: M/M, Other, sexual discussion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-14
Updated: 2014-06-14
Packaged: 2018-02-04 15:36:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1784278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amber_and_Ash/pseuds/Amber_and_Ash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ekaterin has to explain a Vorish tradition to Laisa after her wedding. One that woman aren't even meant to know about, at that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From a Certain Point of View

**Author's Note:**

> I read a challenge some time back that included a request that it not be adultery. I forget what the challenge itself was, but that request started me thinking about what counted as adultery, and the result was this fic. 
> 
> Explicit, but not actually sexual in content.

Ekaterin paced, unable stay seated in the little sitting room. She had to keep footsteps muffled not to draw the attention of the ImpSec guards patrolling the corridors of the Residence, which reduced the satisfaction of the pacing. She wanted to blame this all on Miles, but for all his tendencies, for all the fact that she was doing this for him, she could not honestly claim he had 'got her into this'. She could still retreat from her intent, come up with some cover story for her request, and no one would know. But Miles... Yes. That was what made it necessary. She thought back to the conversation.

* * *

 

"When you were on Komarr, you had female chats? With the Komarr women?"

"Well, no. Not really," she'd replied, too used to Miles erratic shifts to be startled. "That kind of familiarity was... discouraged." _By Tien_ was understood but not spoken.

"Ah." Miles had gone immediately back to worrying at his problem and Ekaterin had almost let it go.

"Why do you ask?"

"Ah," repeated Miles, and Ekaterin had been amazed to see him blush slightly. "I was wondering if Laisa would regard diamerizein as sex. Many galactics do, you know."

Ekatarin, despite all her exposure to the family's unexpected Betan-ness, blinked. For all that it was a perennial favourite of gossip at Vor tea parties, she could quite safely say she had never heard the word spoken in mixed company before. Females weren't officially supposed to know about it at all. But this was Miles, and she wasn't going to admit to prudery in front of him. “Why would anyone regard it as sex? That would be like regarding masturbation as sex.”

“Oh, if it's done with the intention of being witnessed, some do. And on the other end of the scale, there's a batch on Old Earth that don't consider anything other than male penis into female vagina to be sex. We run into recurring problems with their and our tourists about charges of rape and prostitution. In fact, just last month-”

* * *

 

Miles distracted her with anecdotes, and it wasn't until later that Ekaterin realised he'd never told her why he'd been asking. She didn't want to intrude by asking directly, but she'd asked around the matter, piecemeal and uncertain, until it had crystallised into a need for this conversation.

She was caught awkwardly behind the couch when the door opened, but Laisa didn't press her embarrassment as they settled down with fresh tea.

"I must admit to being overwhelmed with curiosity. What were you wanting to speak to me about?"

"To be painfully honest, I'm hoping I won't have to speak with you much at all. It's one of those terrible Barrayan unspeakables, I'm afraid. Please tell me Alys or Cordelia have spoken to you about diamerizein traditions."

"I'm sorry, I can't place the term. Perhaps they have and I've forgotten? They did take me through so much."

"I suspect you'd remember this one," said Ekaterin dryly. She bowed her head. She honestly had expected that they'd spoken about it, and she would simply be taking the conclusion back to Miles. Had they not known about Gregor and Miles, or had Cordelia had grown so accustomed to Barrayan ways she no longer saw it as odd to a galactic? Or perhaps as a Betan she had never found it odd in the first place? Whatever the explanation, she now had to explain it herself. She considered. She could start with the facts, but she rather thought she'd have better results if she started with the reason why it was important to the Emperor, and, not inconsequentially, to Miles.

"Did you hear about the time when Miles was on trial for treason?"

Laisa didn't call her on the apparent non sequitur.

"Oh, when he picked up his mercenary fleet and they had to come up with some colourful explanation?"

"That was the outcome, yes. But before that, Gregor had genuinely believed that Miles had plotted to overthrow him and place Aral on the throne."

"Surely not!"

"Oh, I'm not saying he wanted to believe, but in that moment, in those circumstances... he doubted. It hurt everyone involved. More than any of them wish to admit."

"And?" Laisa prompted her, clearly aware this was Going Somewhere.

"Barrayan males have...oh, half a dozen rituals for confirmation of their little pecking orders, implying various levels of loyalty and permanence. Diamerizein is one of them, and one that's fairly popular in all-male environments. It doesn't imply much in the way of permanence, but it's one of the few personal ones that is offered by the... the... junior male and can be refused by the senior. It makes both parties rather vulnerable, you see, and by tradition the senior party cannot even suggest that such a thing might be welcome to him prior to the actual offer."

"So after the treason trial..."

"Yes. Gregor already had Miles's hands between his, of course, but this was... well, both a rededication and a challenge. Very Miles. He organised it with security, and 'showed himself before Gregor', as the expression runs, daring Gregor to either prove his trust in Miles or shame him by sending him back."

"And I assume he accepted. But that was a very long time ago and you wouldn't have asked for this meeting for ancient history."

"No. Diamerizein is not a one off ritual. One doesn't speak of it with one's spouse, but I think Miles and Gregor have been using it for reassurance ever since. I think it's in both their best interests that it continue, but Miles has concerns about how you will react to it, so he's stopped."

"Why would he? What is it you have been dancing around?"

"Miles thinks you might consider it an infringement on your marriage vows." The hurdle could no longer be avoided, and Ekaterin decided to get it over with as quickly as possible. "Diamerizein involves the senior male ... err... rubbing himself to completion between the thighs of the junior."

Laisa's cup rattled, and she set it aside. Ekaterin watched as she took one deep breath, and then another.

"Miles isn't worried about infringing _your_ marriage vows?"

"Vors don't really think of it as being sex. There's no penetration, no romance, no implied promises. Miles himself wouldn't complete in the circumstances. For obvious reasons, it's a tradition that's more common in school and on shipboard than married men at home, but it's still just one of those things Barrayan men do when they're being manly together."

“And it doesn't bother you?”

Tien would have stopped participating after school, Ekaterin judged, never earning the offering and scorning the power of offering himself. Miles was different. Miles had few acquaintances of the right age, rank and Vorish background, but not _none_. He wouldn't normally dream of violating the privacy of his partners to her, of course. He had relationships with people outside of his relationship with her, and she had never expected anything else.

“No,” said Ekaterin. She grappled with how to explain the network of loyalties to Laisa. She herself occasionally tripped over the difference between the theoretical Vor duties she had grown up with and the very real and personal duties Miles had to his district, his liegemen and his Emperor. How much more abstract and impersonal would Gregor's 'duty to his people' have seemed to Laisa when they had first married? She had paused too long and missed her chance.

"So. I have to accept this not-sex of theirs, and pretend I don't even know about it."

Ekaterin winced. She'd wanted to repair the relationship between Miles and Gregor, not damage that between Gregor and Laisa. She supposed her attempt had edged into the territory of emotional blackmail.

"You don't have to. For a start, if you ask Gregor not to, he won't. It might not have occurred to him that it might be a problem, but he would never knowingly do something that made you unhappy."

"And for seconds?"

"Sorry?"

"You said for a start. What else?"

"Oh! Well, if you just leave the situation, I very much doubt it will ever occur anyway. Gregor can't initiate after all, and I don't believe there's anyone other than Miles who has the audacity to offer."

"And Miles won't."

"Not as things stand. Miles has more exposure to galactic thinking than most. He would not put what he would consider to be unneeded stress on your relationship."

"What he would consider unneeded. Not what you would consider."

Ekaterin fought down her impulse to respond to the imperial tone with appropriate formality. Instead, she replied quietly, "Our boys are far more fragile than they'd like to think themselves."

Laisa stood, and Ekaterin followed her up.

"I'm afraid I must be off. I hope we can meet again soon."

Ekaterin didn't not resist this time, curtseying properly. "Yes, milady."

Laisa paused at the door. "Ekaterin. Give me time. That wasn't a no."

Ekatarin collapsed back into the seat, but her heart rate had steadied. That was very close to being a yes. Their boys were more fragile than they wished to be, but this wouldn't be one of the things to break them. But next time, she was leaving this all to Cordelia.  


End file.
